Agnès Varda’s final film ‘Varda by Agnès’ to open in November in U.S. cinemas

Filmmaking legend Agnès Varda’s final film, “Varda by Agnès,” will open Nov. 22 in select cinemas in New York City, followed by a nationwide rollout.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Janus Films has acquired U.S. rights to the documentary, which made its world premiere in February at the Berlin International Film Festival, just weeks before the “godmother of French New Wave cinema” died March 29 at her home in Paris at the age of 90.

“Varda by Agnès” also is scheduled to screen at the 57th New York Film Festival, which will take place Sept. 27-Oct. 13.

In the documentary, the 2018 Honorary Oscar winner turned the lens on herself and her artistic journey as a filmmaker and photographer.

“We felt it was important to make one last film where she would give some keys — her own — to her work; ‘Varda by Agnès’ is rather a conversation,” said Rosalie Varda, the filmmaker’s daughter and producer, in a statement. “We completed the film for the Berlin Film Festival in February. The press conference to present the film was an intense and powerful moment for both of us. She knew it was her last and I, who thought she was eternal, realized that she was holding my hand to continue her work.”

To coincide with the release of the film, Janus also will launch a touring retrospective of Varda’s work. The retrospective, which will feature more than 30 movies from the filmmaker’s six-decade career, which kick off Dec. 20 in New York at Film at Lincoln Center.

“Agnès Varda’s final film is a canny valedictory by one of the greatest filmmakers ever to wield a camera. It is a quintessential Varda film that not only gives us new ways of looking at her life and work, but new ways of looking at the world,” said Peter Becker, a partner in Janus Films. “Agnès was a friend and mentor to many of us at Janus Films, and we are especially happy and honored to join with Rosalie and the Ciné-tamaris family in celebrating her legacy with this grand retrospective.”

In 2018, Varda became the oldest person ever to be nominated in a competitive Oscar category for her endearing documentary, “Faces Places (Visages Villages),” which she made in collaboration with the French visual artist JR. The film also earned Varda the awards for Actress Defying Age and Ageism and Best Woman Director at the Alliance of Women Film Journalists’ EDA Awards.